New to being diabetic

Hello, my name is John and I am 35. I have been in the hospital twice for stroke like symptoms, to hear them say that they can't find the problems. I seen my new fam doc and within 45 min he told me that I was diabetic, really diabetic. I feel extremely lost as how to start my new diabetic life. I am married and my wife is border line diabetic. Can anyone help my wife and I out with what to start and do first. I have been put on meds and see my doc in one week for more news. Thank you and God bless.

32 replies

Nice to meet you. and Welcome to Diabetic Connect. You definitely came to the right place. This is the most supportive community on the planet.

I am not a physician but I counsel individuals and families who are facing chronic conditions.

I really encourage you and your wife to get educated, to learn as much as possible about diabetes and how it is treated. If you have a chance to meet with a diabetes educator, that could help a lot.

What I have learned through the years is that a new diagnosis can feel overwhelming with all of the changes that it brings to your life. So stay in close communication with your doctor, find out what you need to do first to take the best possible care of yourself, know what your self-care priorities are, and then take it one step at a time. This is something that yuo and your wife could work on together.

A new diagnosis brings up a lot of feelings, so I hope that you are getting a lot of support. Being connected here on Diabetic Connect is a great first step -- you have lots of awesome people here who are traveling this road along beside you.

Welcome to DC! I too am newly diagnosed (First of Sept. this year) and the best advice I can give you is question, question, question. Never think a question is silly or dumb, because it just might be the question that means health BG levels and total chaos.

This is what helped me. It may or may not help you. A lot of people benefit from following a low carb diet. Over time you may be able to add more carbs to your diet once your blood sugar stabilizes.

Feb 2009 I was diagnosed with a fasting blood sugar of 366 and A1C of 14.1. Started to eat a salad every day at supper. Also started to eat lots of low carb vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, cucumbers, spinach, pickles and sauerkraut. Started to drink 8+ glasses of water every day.

I then bought a meter and started to test my blood sugar before and after each meal. At first I was testing 2 hours after each meal and when my numbers dropped a lot I started testing 1 hour after meals. I test 5-7 times a day. I cut back or eliminated foods that spiked my blood sugar more than 50 points after eating.

By testing I found that foods like bread and most foods made of grains along with pasta, rice, corn, potatoes, oatmeal, cereals, chips, crackers, cakes, cookies, candy, soda, fruits, fruit juices, milk and most foods that contain more than 5-6 net carbs per serving as found on the package label all spiked my blood sugar. Some people can cut back on these foods and some people like me have to stop eating them.

After about 6-8 weeks my blood sugar readings were almost normal levels.

I found by reducing and eliminating high carb starchy foods helped me a lot. By adding small amounts of chicken, beef, pork or a hard boiled egg to my meals helped reduce blood sugar spikes also.

Thank you for all this info. I am planning on buying a meter. Which one should I choose though do many out there. My wife and I are going to cut fried foods and I am cutting hot dogs, lunch meat and we are going to cut whatever else we have to. My wife is border line. Add me as a friend if you want. God bless

There are lots of meters to choose from. You may want to call your insurance company to see what meters and test strips they will pay for. Then you may want to call the doctors office and see which one they want you to use. Insurance is more important than the doctor. If your insurance company doesn’t pay for the test strips then buy and use what you can afford. Walmart and some drug stores sell a meter that uses less expensive test trips. The main thing is to test how different foods affect your blood sugar and stop eating or cut back on serving sizes of foods that spike your blood sugar a lot.

Hey John! Welcome to the party! Sorry you qualify for our group here, but glad you came.Finding out what type you really are will be the key to telling you where to start. I think though, since your wife is already border line, we might want to look at your diets. There are a ton of different "programs" out there, and I personally follow a low carb diet, but that may not be for you. Each of us here is slightly different in our conditions and treatments that you're bound to find someone/something, or the right combination that will work for you and the wife. I know for a type 2, it can be beaten (maybe not cured) to the point of it just being a very minor inconvenience.Look around the site and ask questions, we'll have you on the right track in no time if we can.

Hello I'm also new. T2 since April this year. I have found so much on the internet about diabetes but its hard to know the truth from the crap. And everyone's body acts different to diabetes. I have found good infr from calling American Diabetes As. And my local health Dept. Groups like this is good to come together and talk. Good luck to you and your family.